BERNHOFT

While touring the world over the past few years—and captivating crowds with his stunning looping power as a one-man-band act— the Norwegian retro-soul singer/multi-instrumentalist, Bernhoft found his music taking on a whole new level of meaning. “On the last tour it was very strange for me to come from a country that’s incredibly well-off and unaffected by the recession, and then perform in places where a whole generation is out of work and there’s a real feeling of hopelessness,” says Bernhoft. “I felt like I was trying to reach out and lift people’s spirits, but at the same time I was always aware that I was very much in a separate place from them.” On his new album Islander, Bernhoft explores that disconnect by amping up his groove-laced soul elements with frenetic tension captured through deeper and richer sonic textures. His guitar riffs, piano chords, and lyrics on Islander, embrace both heartbreaking raw emotion of reality and soulful positivity. Escapist yet challenging, Islander emerges as an album that dares to reimagine what’s possible in pop music.